About
Jaime Pressly is a North‑Carolina–born actress and former fashion model who has built a sturdy career out of sharp comedic timing and unflinching Southern charm. Audiences first embraced her as Joy Turner—the pistol‑toting, lottery‑loving ex‑wife on NBC’s My Name Is Earl—a role that earned her the 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Since then she has toggled easily between film and television, playing the elegant but unfiltered Jill Kendall on CBS’s Mom (2014‑2021) and, most recently, realtor Barb Flatch on Fox’s mockumentary Welcome to Flatch (2022‑2023). In 2023 she turned up on the big screen as no‑nonsense attorney Brenda in the Lionsgate comedy The Re‑Education of Molly Singer, reminding fans that her knack for scene‑stealing isn’t limited to television. Heading into 2025, Pressly is slated to greet fans in person at Alabama’s Huntsville Comic & Pop Culture Expo alongside several former cast‑mates, underscoring her enduring pop‑culture pull.
Before Fame
Pressly’s path to Hollywood began in the gyms of Kinston, North Carolina, where years of competitive gymnastics gave her the athletic poise that later defined many of her roles. At fourteen she landed the cover of Teen Magazine, and by fifteen she had gained legal emancipation so she could honor a modeling contract in Japan—proof of early resolve and a willingness to take bold leaps. Runway work soon led to commercials and guest spots on shows such as Baywatch before feature parts in Poison Ivy: The New Seduction and the high‑school satire Not Another Teen Movie put her on Hollywood’s radar.
Trivia
- Fashion Entrepreneur: In 2003 she launched J’aime by Jaime Pressly, a lingerie line that later expanded into casual wear before closing in 2008.
- Voice & Game Work: Her credits include voicing Jessica in the video game Saints Row 2 and Mrs. Quilligan in the animated hit Horton Hears a Who!.
- Saturday Night Live Host: Pressly joined the storied roster of SNL hosts in 2006, further cementing her comedy chops.
- Legal Hiccup: A 2011 DUI arrest resulted in probation—an episode she has since described as a hard‑learned lesson.
- Show‑Switcher: When Welcome to Flatch was canceled after two seasons in February 2024, she took the news in stride, telling press she was grateful for “another chance to play with fearless comedy.”
Family Life
Pressly is a hands‑on mother of three. Her eldest, Dezi James Calvo, was born in 2007 during her relationship with DJ Eric Calvo. She wed entertainment attorney Simran Singh in 2009; the marriage ended amicably in 2011. Today she shares life with longtime partner Hamzi Hijazi, with whom she welcomed twin sons, Leo and Lenon, in 2017. Though based in Los Angeles, Pressly often returns to North Carolina to visit extended family and recharge in the slower rhythms of her hometown.
Associated With
- Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Eddie Steeples: Co‑stars from My Name Is Earl; Pressly, Suplee, and Steeples are all billed for the 2025 Huntsville Expo, giving fans a rare group reunion.
- Anna Faris & Allison Janney: She sparred lovingly with both on Mom, forming an on‑screen trio that critics praised for balancing slapstick and pathos.
- Britt Robertson & Ty Simpkins: Pressly’s younger co‑stars in The Re‑Education of Molly Singer, where her authority‑figure role flipped the dynamic of her earlier “wild‑card” characters.
- Paul Rudd & Jason Segel: She stole scenes opposite the duo in the 2009 bromance film I Love You, Man.
